Second ending to The Pearl
by GeekGothGuy
Summary: A second ending to the classic story, by John Steinbeck, The Pearl


*Disclaimer* I do not own any of John Steinbeck's characters or The Pearl... or anything else like that...  
  
Starts at page 78  
  
Second Ending to The Pearl  
  
He hoped she'd beg him to stay with her, he was afraid of the trackers. He didn't really care about his family anymore. Not the way he used to anyway, the pearl had changed, and in doing so, changed him. Then the pearl took control of his mind, if he lived to remember this, he would regret it. All he could think about was how much money the pearl would get, for him.   
He would go faster without the weight of his family, he thought. That little baby has been nothing but trouble, and Juana is too stubborn. Now that he realized he need to be rid of them, he had to think of how he would go about doing so. It barely took him a moment to realize, he needed them dead. Juana would never understand the pearl, she couldn't. She couldn't understand its power, its beauty, its magnificence. He needed to kill them quickly, while he still could.  
"You may come with me." Kino replied, sounding not like himself, but darker, and almost evil. Juana noticed Kino's change, but she loved him anyway and followed him up the mountains.  
Surprisingly, the journey was wasn't as tough as expected. Someone had already cleared out a path. In his mind, Kino knew it was the trackers who made the path, but he didn't care, he could only think of the pearl. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Kino saw the tracker with the gun. He watched him aim, and fire. In a split second, Kino pulled Juana in front of him to stop the bullet. Juana fell to the ground, dead, with Coyotito in her arms, also dead. Apparently, the bullet had gone straight through Coyotito , and into Juana's heart, killing them both instantly. What luck! Kino thought, if that bullet them both, it must be the will of the pearl. Then Kino ran, as fast as he could. Down the mountains Kino ran. A rage had overtaken him. He only thought of the pearl  
When Kino finally arrived in the nearest village, he went straight to the pearl shop and entered in.  
"How are ya today mister?" The man behind the counter asked.  
"I want to sell this pearl." Kino replied in a creepy monotone. "Sure friend, now where's this pearl of yours?" Kino pulled out the pearl and the man gasped. "What a large pear ya got there mister! How much ya want for it?" The man behind the counter inquired. "Because I'd be willing to give a whole lot!" Kino replied with "I'd be willing to take a whole lot as well." This time when he spoke, he sounded a bit more alive. "How about 10,000 pesos?" the man asked. "Yes, I'll take it!" Kino almost shouted, very eagerly. "Well I'll just go to the back to get the money, I wont take long. You don't go leavin' with that pearl of yours ya hear?" Kino watched the man leave to the back room, his eyes wandered around the pearl shop, it was plain and simple, not much to look at. Then his eye drifted towards the pearl and he saw his family's death, the death that he caused. He then snapped out of the trance the pearl had put him in, and fell to his knees and sobbed. "You okay mister?" That man inquired, slightly scared. "Just give me the money!" Kino yelled, with a burning rage in his eyes. "Ok, um... here you go mister, please don't hurt me!" Kino grabbed the money out of the mans hand and ran to the nearest gun shop.  
"Give me a gun, here's the money!" Kino snapped at the gun salesman.  
"Okay, okay! No need to get snappy!" the gun salesman replied, a bit offended by Kino's tone. He reached under the counter and gave the gun to Kino. Kino threw the money at him and ran. He knew what he had to do, because he knew what he did. The pearl, it was so wonderful, he thought, it used to be a gift from God, now I realize it's a curse from hell. It brought out the worst in me, it made me kill my own family. The only things I ever loved. Now they're gone, and it's all my fault. Kino fell to the ground, sobbing hysterically, incessantly. He couldn't go on like this, knowing he killed his family. He had nothing left but the clothes on his back, and the gun in his hand. He searched his mind for other possibilities, anything than what was inevitably creeping up on him. He raised the gun to his head, and fired. 


End file.
